Juan Jose Ibarretxe is one of those politicians that you don't know if you should like or not. Granted, his PNV has not performed a single bold move towards independence for a long time now and the actions by its pro-Spain members like Imaz and Balza are the source of strong criticism.
But then he comes up with something like this, he just announced that he wants Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero to testify during his trial. Let us remember that he stands accused of meeting with members of Batasuna during the peace process that came to an end when Madrid decided to torpedo all negotiations. The thing is, Jose Luis Rodriguez also met with members of Batasuna, beyond that, top members of his party met with ETA representatives, yet, oddly enough, they are not being prosecuted.
In doing so, Ibarretxe has exposed bot Zapatero and the Spanish justice establishment for what they really are, mere instruments of Madrid's repressive machinery against the Basque people.
Here you have the note published by PR Inside:
Oh, and by the way, the National Court is yet to prove any links between Batasuna and ETA, four whole years after the political party was banned, four years, talk about timely trial and presumption of innocence.
But then he comes up with something like this, he just announced that he wants Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero to testify during his trial. Let us remember that he stands accused of meeting with members of Batasuna during the peace process that came to an end when Madrid decided to torpedo all negotiations. The thing is, Jose Luis Rodriguez also met with members of Batasuna, beyond that, top members of his party met with ETA representatives, yet, oddly enough, they are not being prosecuted.
In doing so, Ibarretxe has exposed bot Zapatero and the Spanish justice establishment for what they really are, mere instruments of Madrid's repressive machinery against the Basque people.
Here you have the note published by PR Inside:
World News
Basque president wants Spanish PM to testify in trial over talks with ETA political wing
2007-11-20 18:15:12 -
MADRID, Spain (AP) - The president of the Basque region, facing trial for meeting with a banned party linked to ETA, wants Spain's prime minister and his predecessor to testify in the case, arguing that they, too, negotiated with the armed Basque separatist group but were never charged over it.
Basque president Juan Jose Ibarretxe will present a motion to that effect Wednesday to the Superior Court of Justice of the Basque country, his spokeswoman Miren Azkarate said.
He hopes to have a subpoena issued against Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba, former prime minister Jose Maria Aznar and other senior ex-officials.
Dialogue with an extremist group in an effort to reach peace «is a democratic principle that should be preserved rather than penalized and is also embraced by the international community,» Azkarate said.
Zapatero's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The charges against Ibarretxe stem from a suit filed by two activist groups opposed to Zapatero's now-failed policy of negotiating with ETA.
Under Spanish law, private parties can seek to have criminal charges brought, and the Basque court agreed, even though prosecutors were against sending the case to trial, saying they saw no evidence of a crime. No date has been set by the court.
Ibarretxe met with representatives of Batasuna, considered ETA's political wing, in April 2006 and January 2007. Optimism was high then over prospects for an end to the decades-old conflict that has claimed more than 800 lives; ETA had just declared what it termed a permanent ceasefire, in March 2006.
Two members of the Basque branch of Zapatero's Socialist party also met with Batasuna.
On Oct. 30, the Basque court said Ibarretxe and the two Socialists must stand trial, arguing they may have committed a crime because the Spanish Supreme Court outlawed Batasuna in 2003 on grounds it is part of ETA.
Ibarretxe, who leads a nationalist party that shares ETA's goal of independence but opposes violence as the way to achieve it, will now argue that the justice system is observing a double standard, Azkarate said.
Zapatero negotiated with ETA during the recent ceasefire, which ended this year with a resumption of separatist violence, and Aznar also negotiated with ETA in 1999 during a cease-fire then, she noted.
«And nobody ever felt they had committed a crime,» she told a news conference.
Oh, and by the way, the National Court is yet to prove any links between Batasuna and ETA, four whole years after the political party was banned, four years, talk about timely trial and presumption of innocence.
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